It has been proposed to place a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag on or in a wall of a container to confirm the genuineness of the package that includes the container and/or to provide other information concerning the package or a product within the package. A general object of the present disclosure is to provide a mechanism for attaching an RFID tag to a container, particularly a prescription vial, after fabrication of the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A container in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure includes a container body having a sidewall and an end wall extending across the sidewall and closing an end of the container body. A retainer is received on the container body with a central portion of the retainer adjacent to the end wall of the container body and a flexible edge portion of the retainer engaging the sidewall of the container body at an angle to resist removal of the retainer away from the end wall. An RFID tag is disposed between the central portion of the retainer and the end wall of the container body. The retainer and the RFID tag may be disposed outside of the container body interior, but more preferably are disposed within the container body interior. The retainer preferably is imperforate, and the edge portion of the retainer preferably is in continuous peripheral contact with the container sidewall to seal the RFID tag from the container interior. In a preferred implementation, the container body is a molded plastic prescription vial having an annular sidewall, and the retainer is in continuous annular contact with the interior surface of the container sidewall to seal the RFID tag from the container interior.